Davie the Mage (Generations of Eredwynn Book 2) (12 page)

              I smiled at her and went looking for the bottom of the mug, as the maid arrived with my refill. I thanked her and turned to Baissel, who was staring at me. “Davie, that cup holds no answers.”

              I felt the anger at the whole situation grab me again and burn like a
flamestrike
in my gut. She put her arms around me and said, “I’m sorry, Davie. I’m just concerned that if you get too much alcohol in you, it will block the magic I have to use to keep you calm. None of us had realized how powerful you were until you actually vaporized a stone wall! That was when the order came through that I was to keep you calm at all costs. I think they believe you could flatten the castle if you lost control again!”

              “Are you here under orders, Sis? I could keep going west and there’d be no chance of anyone getting hurt. None of this is really happening and I’ll wake up soon. If I were sleeping, I could dream of flying and wake up falling off the bed, like a normal person.”

              “Davie, Aunt Chloe asked me to find you and calm you, if I could. She could ask you for a drink of water and make it sound like an order! I found you and am here because I want to be. There are a lot of people here for that reason and some here because they don’t know what to do. But I’m sure that your lady friends will find the second floor sooner or later. Don’t think, for a minute, and I’ll show you what I mean.” She hopped off the bed and went to the door. With a nod and a head jerk, she was followed in by Aunt Gwen.

              I chuckled feebly, “So it’s the attack of the elves to keep the grieving widower calm now!” They sat on either side of me and the feeling of almost nothing was blissful.

              Gwen said, “Nephew, grief hurts and you’ll work through it. It may seem that it won’t ever go away and sadly, it won’t. But time will dull the edges, but only time can do that. You can try to drink it away but it won’t work and will lessen Baissel’s and my abilities. It will also make you angry and that would be more destructive than grief, and we’ve seen what that can do.”

              I sighed, “Fair enough. I’ll try to help you help me. I’m calm now and incredibly tired, for only being mid-afternoon. If you could locate my mother, I have a job that she is perfectly suited for.”

              Gwen smiled and opened the door and signaled for Mother. It made me wonder if all of the wizards weren’t standing by the balcony! Mother, her eyes red, came to me and hugged me. “What is this job you have for me, Son?”

              “The three girls on the bed have requested to stay with me as my…” I looked at Baissel and she nodded, mouthing the word, “courtesans. The other twenty-one girls in here have rooms and are undecided as to the positions they have or want. Most of them are from the rescue, so I don’t want anyone pushed to make any kind of decision, or to be removed. I would like to sleep and hopefully wake with a better grip on myself. Do you think you could…?”

              “Say no more! I am perfect for this job. EXCUSE ME, LADIES! You don’t have to go to your rooms, but it’s time to leave this one. Davie is going to rest and those of you interested can check on him later.”

              With nods, smiles and a few half-hearted winks, the girls all filed out without another word. I grinned. “I might be a bit messed up in the head right now, but I can delegate to the right person. Gwen, you and Baissel don’t have to stay with me, because I hope these three will keep an eye on me and get someone if needed.”

              Zayna said, “We’ll keep an eye on him and let him sleep if he needs to.” She then blushed profusely at how that could be interpreted.

              Mother said, “Young ladies, he is my baby and if he needs anything, just get Baissel from the guest suite or one of the other wizards that seem to be everywhere, here, and they’ll get someone. If he gets angry, I guess you know to just get way out of the way. And thank you for caring about him!”

              Everyone left and the girls pulled back the covers. I stripped out of my clothes and draped them on the dresser. I crawled under the blankets and looked around. The three girls were sitting on their knees on the bed, watching me like vultures.

              I laughed, “You don’t have to get into gowns or even get out of your clothes, if you don’t want to, but I wouldn’t mind being held right now.” Given a direction, they quickly climbed under the covers with me and held me. I fought off an occasional sob as I drifted off.

Chapter Nine

            
 
I
t’s always odd to wake in the evening when you’re used to rising with the sun. There’s no day to plan for and no projects that can be started. I smiled at the three girls who were babysitting me, all sleeping soundly. I slipped out of bed and dressed silently. Looking out of my bedroom door, I was surprised that no one was gathered around the third floor balcony, like I assumed they’d been all day. I went downstairs and heard voices in different rooms on the second floor. On the ground floor, I walked past the finance offices and the kitchen without a single person noticing me. I slipped out a side door so I didn’t have to traverse the boring throne room and receiving chamber. It wasn’t until I made it all the way out to the courtyard that I was spotted. One of the merchants, who I’d met but couldn’t place, saw me walking toward the gate. He bowed, with a few backward steps away from me. I nodded and continued to the gate. Naturally, the guard saw me coming and quickly cleared a path, bowing low. Everyone in the castle knew what had happened, and I wondered how much of the kingdom did. Since this had happened to a member of the royal family, and they’re all wizards that can travel at the speed of thought, the story could be everywhere. I went toward the dock to see how the building had progressed that afternoon.

              As I walked toward the beach, I went out of my way not to see the tables that the girls had been working at. I then had second thoughts. Amber said that she had been pushed into someone and had gotten scratched. Perhaps whatever had scratched her had been dropped or dislodged and was still there. If I could find the object that had been responsible for killing my wife, perhaps it would answer some questions for me. There was nothing on the ground or on the tables that could be forced to break the skin. Someone must have been carrying something, but why would they have such a deadly toxin in the first place? And second, why would it have been somewhere that a person could get scratched?

              I was getting more questions than answers, so I headed to the dock.  Workmen were packing up tools for the day and shied away from me as they bowed. I couldn’t blame them for their fear. I could see the wall that I’d destroyed in my memory and how the solid stone had vaporized. I’d never heard of that happening in the short history of magic on Eredwynn. I’d never thought of myself as a particularly powerful wizard, but I could do all the standard tricks of a sibling. It must have been the emotion that triggered such an enormous blast. I looked toward the castle where the hole had been, and Aunt Alice had done such a perfect job of repairing it, the damage couldn’t be spotted from the ground.

              Suddenly, the alarm bell from Perlsea began to sound! I took to the air, shielding as I went. I flew rapidly over the wall and landed in the courtyard. I walked quickly toward the gate and noticed that people everywhere were pointing at me! The ‘all clear’ was rung and Baissel ran from the gate and hugged me.

              My tiny sister said, “The girls woke up and couldn’t find you so they came to my room. They were a bit panicked and so we started looking. I had the guard sound the alarm to get more people looking for you.”

              “I heard the alarm and thought something was wrong. I was just down by the docks, checking on the construction there. I didn’t mean to frighten anyone. I’m still having moments but I’ve been able to keep it in check. I won’t go knocking down castles without warning.”

              Baissel giggled, “That is exactly what they’re worried about and I don’t doubt that you could do it, after what we saw. I would suggest that you let someone know when you’re going to be out walking around.”

              I sighed. “I suppose I scared everyone so badly that house arrest is in order. Everywhere I went people were backing away from me and not wanting me close. I think I may have to talk to Father and see if he’d rather give Perlsea to someone who isn’t considered dangerous by the population.”

              “You can talk to him if you’d like but I can tell you what he’ll say. He’ll just tell you that the people will get over it, in time, and you should just wait them out.”

              I shook my head. “That’s what he’ll say but I don’t know about people forgetting. One intense moment followed by another will keep people’s interest for a while. We’ll see, and I know that you’ll come see me sometimes and keep me in line. Or you can get Lia to do it when you think abuse is the answer.”

              She laughed, took my hand and hit me with calm. She led me upstairs, passing relieved people all the way. When we opened the door to my room and walked in, I was almost tackled by three very worried young ladies. They lectured me about not leaving without letting at least one of them know where I was going. Disappearing without a word was no longer allowed.

              Baissel, grinning from ear to ear, agreed, “Now I’m not the only one to have told you that and Father says ‘majority rules!’ I’m going to bed, now and if you don’t need me, I’ll get some sleep. Girls, don’t be shy about waking me if he needs me to help him mellow out.”

              I apologized to the girls, “I’m really sorry about worrying you. I believe that I’ll call it a day, too. You’re all welcome to change into gowns and sleep in my room or you can go to your own rooms. I want you to know that sex is the farthest thing from my mind but having you ladies near would be nice.”

              They understood and changed for bed. I crawled in the middle of them and took care of the lights. Dreams plagued my night.

              The next morning, I woke my girls with kisses and got dressed. I went downstairs and Ewayn met me in front of her office. She greeted me, “Good morning, Your Highness.”

              I smiled and chuckled, “Please, we work together and that ‘noble’ noise will just slow things down. My name is Davie.”

              She laughed, “Well Davie, it seems that being the only woman my age in the castle has given me the dubious pleasure of being told all the girls’ problems. The problem that I heard over and over, both last night and this morning, was that the young ladies all wanted to be relocated. I don’t know how they are attached to you, or even if you should care that they want to leave, but there you go.”

              I sighed. “Twenty girls were rescued from a trader. Four of them were already here. Two that were already here and one rescued girl have asked to stay. The other twenty-one are in my care because my father didn’t have any other place to put them. I’ll go up to my sister’s room and see if she’s awake. I can send her to Wizard’s Castle and let the King know that my remodeling frightened the girls and they want to leave.”

              “You’re not upset with them for leaving?”

              “I understand why they are scared; because it’s not every day you see a solid stone wall vaporized in front of you. My feelings are a bit hurt, but I have too much other pain and problems to let hurt feelings get in my way.”

              She smiled and put her hand on my shoulder. “If you ever need to talk, you know where to find me.”

              I thanked her and ran up the stairs to Baissel’s room. I knocked on the door and she answered quickly. I asked, “Would you mind porting to Wizard’s and letting Father know that the rescued consorts and a couple others will need to be relocated? They don’t want to be here anymore because, I think, they expect me to blow up the castle.”

              She giggled, “I can’t blame them too much. I expect you to, too! Are you going to be all right for a while?”

              “Yeah, this seems to come and go and right now it’s gone. When it comes back, it will come with a vengeance, but I’ll deal. I wouldn’t move back to your room in Wizard’s just yet.”

              She kissed me on the cheek. “Keep breathing!” And she was gone.

              Within fifteen minutes, my father, Gwen, Baissel, and my mother ported in beside the balcony. Baissel and Gwen took off and started rounding up girls, while the rest of us went down to the great hall. It would afford us privacy and plenty of room for everyone to gather. The girls filed in with their heads down, except for the three who had decided to stay. They walked over to me and I nodded, letting my mother, father and Gwen know they were with me.

              My father began speaking, “It has been brought to my attention that many of you aren’t happy with your placement here. It seems that witnessing my son’s outburst during his grief was so upsetting that you don’t want to be in the same building as he. What I need to do is find out how many of you want to leave. If you do, would you please move over here by these tables?”             

              The exodus was slow but picked up speed until every girl in the group had moved. My mother said, “Of all the ungrateful…”